Going Bananas

      "Well, I think we’ve been out here long enough,” Nigel said to Einstein.

      In agreement, the red Blumaroo and Geeky Geb turned their backs on the perfectly nice day and entered their Neohome. They stepped into chaos, in stark contrast of the nice day outside. For a horrifying moment, Nigel thought they had been robbed. He heard noise coming from the kitchen and began to head in that direction when his brother, Drew burst out, bouncing and twirling. The strange thing was that the yellow Blumaroo was holding bananas.

      Then, Drew began to sing at the top of his lungs.

      “Bananas, bananas, I love you. Yes, I do. I love bananas, sweet and true.”

      The yellow Blum broke off and began humming. Spotting his brother, he bounced on his tail and shoved the bundle of bananas that he held in Nigel’s face.

      “Nigel, isn’t it wonderful? Bananas!” Drew said, sounding crazed.

      “Yeah, right. Wonderful,” Nigel said, nodding quickly and speaking as he would to a child.

      Delighted, Drew bounced away, hugging the yellow fruit to him. Nigel was dumbfounded.

      “More like he’s going bananas,” Nigel said to Einstein.

      The red Blumaroo pushed his black framed glasses back up the bridge of his nose. He began to clean up, talking to Einstein as he worked. He was trying to make sense of it all.

      “Drew isn’t the brightest crayon in the box but he isn’t crazy. Well, at least, I thought he wasn’t crazy. Why bananas? He was just fine this morning. He was the one that told us to go outside for some fresh air and to enjoy nature. Look what came of that! My brother has taken complete leave of his senses.”

      Nigel shook his head, baffled. Then he gave a cry of surprise as a weight fell on top of him. Unbalanced, he fell in a heap on the floor. He rolled over to see Lala, his brother’s yellow Harris. With difficulty, he pulled her off and set her back down.

      “If only Lala could tell us what happened,” Nigel said.

      The Harris was moving towards a pile of shattered glass and Nigel swooped to the rescue. With a resigned sigh, he let Lala cling to his neck as he got a broom and dustpan. He found a cork and label as he swept.

      “The first thing the user sees will become the object of the user’s affection,” Nigel read and then gasped in shock, the slip of paper fluttering to the floor.

      It was an infatuation potion!

      Obviously, there was no such thing as love potions. Nothing could artificially bring love into existence. However, infatuation potions of all strengths were widely available. They could be found in the Haunted Woods, of course, where brewers and their supplies lived. Where Nigel and Drew had lived a few years before.

      They had moved to Faerieland three years ago, drawn by the library (Nigel) and the culture (Drew). Before they left, Nigel had stocked up on things that he couldn’t get anywhere else. He had gone to the Pick Your Potion aisle, which was discount potions that had their labels hidden until purchased. That’s where this particular potion had come from. Now, how had Drew been exposed to it?

      Just then, Drew bounded back into the room, bananas in hand. One thing was clear. Nigel had to return his brother back to normal! First, he headed for his laboratory, Drew in tow. In his current state, Nigel didn’t trust Drew unattended. Infatuation potions had a tendency to grow stronger the longer they remained in effect.

      “Time is of the essence,” Nigel said.

      “Time should be measured by bananas,” Drew said with a giggle.

      “Drew, just stand here with your bananas.”

      The yellow Blumaroo obeyed, cuddling his bananas. Nigel went to his bookcases and delved into them, Einstein doing his share of the searching. The answer had to be there somewhere. In this way, the pair of them completely lost themselves. They forgot everything around them.

      “Aha! I found it!” Nigel exclaimed, thumping the open tome and rising to his feet.

      That’s when the red Blumaroo heard a familiar sound. It was a click, a whirr and then a buzzing sound. One of his machines was coming to life! A zap and an icy cold blast raced behind him. He whirled to see Lala hanging onto his ice ray and Drew completely encased in ice, lips sealed to a banana’s smooth yellow skin.

      Nigel groaned and quickly removed Lala and turned off his ice ray. “You really are trouble, you know that?”

      The yellow Harris gave an indignant squeak and wriggled in Nigel’s grasp, wanting to be free. The red Blumaroo obliged and Lala moved away, to find something else to climb, no doubt.

      “Einstein, I was just wondering how I was going to deal with Drew but I did not imagine this. Too bad we don’t know any fire ‘pets, eh? That would make the melting job a bit easier. I suppose it will keep him safe while the potion is still in his system. A Neomail to the Haunted Woods and we should get brother dearest back by evening,” Nigel said as he patted the ice affectionately, Neomail in hand.

      A few hours later, an antidote arrived and Nigel had been able to get the help of a fire faerie to melt Drew. The melted water was a paint to clean up but Nigel had done it. He gave his brother the antidote and watched his brother reclaim his senses. The yellow and red Blumaroos looked at each other for a moment. Nigel pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose and Drew smiled.

      “I was in love with bananas, Nigel,” Drew said, his laughter barely in check.

      “No, not love. You were infatuated with bananas. There is a difference,” Nigel said.

      “Bananas!”

      “Bananas.”

      Suddenly, the brothers couldn’t contain themselves any longer. They collapsed in a fit of laughter, hooting, clutching their sides, tears rolling down their cheeks. They only stopped when their stomachs ached from their laughter. Slowly, they got to their feet. Nigel’s expression changed from amused to thoughtful.

      “The only thing that puzzles me is how did you get exposed to the infatuation potion to begin with? You didn’t drink it because even when we were children you knew better than that!” Nigel said.

      Drew shook his head slowly in mock dismay, “You are the dumbest smart ‘pet I’ve ever met. How do you think it happened? That potion was on a top shelf. Who else can reach that shelf and anywhere else she sets her mind to? I was trying to get Lala down because I know how much you hate her climbing everything. Right when I made a grab for her, she knocked the potion down. The first thing I saw was the banana that I had been getting ready to eat. You know the rest.”

      The Petpet in question was climbing a bookcase and paid no heed to her owner or his brother.

      “You never know what she’ll get into next,” Nigel said dryly.

      “A morphing potion? An invisibility potion?” Drew joked.

      Nigel looked aghast and Drew wondered if he had gone too far until he realized his brother wasn’t looking at him but past him. He turned to see Lala had reached the top of the bookcase. She was headed straight for a Lost Desert vase.

      “Lala, no!”

      The End.